@article {Flamini2022, title = {Towards Trustworthy Autonomous Systems: Taxonomies and Future Perspectives}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing}, year = {2022}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {

The class of Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS) includes cyber-physical systems leveraging on self-x technologies that make them capable to learn, adapt to changes, and reason under uncertainties in possibly critical applications and evolving environments. In the last decade, there has been a growing interest in enabling artificial intelligence technologies, such as advanced machine learning, new threats, such as adversarial attacks, and certification challenges, due to the lack of sufficient explainability. However, in order to be trustworthy, those systems also need to be dependable, secure, and resilient according to well-established taxonomies, methodologies, and tools. Therefore, several aspects need to be addressed for TAS, ranging from proper taxonomic classification to the identification of research opportunities and challenges. Given such a context, in this paper address relevant taxonomies and research perspectives in the field of TAS. We start from basic definitions and move towards future perspectives, regulations, and emerging technologies supporting development and operation of TAS.

}, keywords = {Arti cial Intelligence, Cyber- Resilience, Cybersecurity, Dependability, Intelligent Systems, Trustworthy Autonomous Systems}, issn = {2168-6750}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1109/TETC.2022.3227113}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9979717/authors$\#$authors}, author = {Francesco Flammini and Cristina Alcaraz and Emanuele Bellini and Stefano Marrone and Javier Lopez and Andrea Bondavalli} } @article {ferraris2020, title = {A Trust Model for Popular Smart Home Devices}, journal = {International Journal of Information Security}, year = {2020}, publisher = {Springer}, abstract = {

Nowadays, smart home devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home have reached mainstream popularity.
Being in the homes of users, these devices are intrinsically intrusive, being able to access details such as users{\textquoteright} name, gender, home address, calendar appointments and others.
There are growing concerns about indiscriminate data collection and invasion of user privacy in smart home devices, but studies show that perceived benefits are exceeding perceived risks when it comes to consumers.
As a result, consumers are placing a lot of trust in these devices, sometimes without realizing it.
Improper trust assumptions and security controls can lead to unauthorized access and control of the devices, which can result in serious consequences.
In this paper, we explore the behaviour of devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home in a smart home setting with respect to trust relationships and propose a trust model to improve these relationships among all the involved actors.
We have evaluated how trust was built and managed from the initial set up phase to the normal operation phase, during which we performed a number of interaction tests with different types of users (i.e. owner, guests).
As a result, we were able to assess the effectiveness of the provided security controls and identify potential relevant security issues.\  In order to address the identified issues, we defined a trust model and propose a solution based on it for further securing smart home systems.

}, keywords = {Internet of Things, privacy, security, Smart Home, Trust}, issn = {1615-5262}, doi = {10.1007/s10207-020-00519-2}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10207-020-00519-2}, author = {Davide Ferraris and Daniel Bastos and Carmen Fernandez-Gago and Fadi El-Moussa} } @article {alcaraz2019a, title = {Covert Channels-based Stealth Attacks in Industry 4.0}, journal = {IEEE Systems Journal.}, volume = {13}, year = {2019}, month = {12/2019}, pages = {3980-3988}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {

Industry 4.0 advent opens several cyber-threats scenarios originally designed for classic information technology, drawing the attention to the serious risks for the modern industrial control networks.\ To cope with this problem, in this paper we address the security issues related to covert channels applied to industrial networks, identifying the new vulnerability points when information technologies converge with operational technologies such as edge computing infrastructures.\ Specifically, we define two signaling strategies where we exploit the Modbus/TCP protocol as target to set up a covert channel. Once the threat channel is established, passive and active offensive attacks (i.e. data exfiltration and command an control, respectively) are further exploited by implementing and testing them on a real Industrial Internet of Things testbed.\ The experimental results highlight the potential damage of such specific threats, and the easy extrapolation of the attacks to other types of channels in order to show the new risks for Industry 4.0. Related to this, we discuss some countermeasures to offer an overview of possible mitigation and defense measures.

}, issn = {1932-8184}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1109/JSYST.2019.2912308}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8715420?source=authoralert}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Giuseppe Bernieri and Federica Pascucci and Javier Lopez and Roberto Setola} } @article {Lopez2017iotpriv, title = {Evolving privacy: From sensors to the Internet of Things}, journal = {Future Generation Computer Systems}, volume = {75}, year = {2017}, month = {10/2017}, pages = {46{\textendash}57}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {

The Internet of Things (IoT) envisions a world covered with billions of smart, interacting things capable of offering all sorts of services to near and remote entities. The benefits and comfort that the IoT will bring about are undeniable, however, these may come at the cost of an unprecedented loss of privacy. In this paper we look at the privacy problems of one of the key enablers of the IoT, namely wireless sensor networks, and analyse how these problems may evolve with the development of this complex paradigm. We also identify further challenges which are not directly associated with already existing privacy risks but will certainly have a major impact in our lives if not taken into serious consideration.\ 

}, keywords = {Challenges, Internet of Things, privacy, WSN}, issn = {0167-739X}, doi = {10.1016/j.future.2017.04.045}, author = {Javier Lopez and Ruben Rios and Feng Bao and Guilin Wang} } @article {Roman2010a, title = {Advanced Secure Multimedia Services for Digital Homes}, journal = {Information Systems Frontiers}, volume = {14}, year = {2012}, month = {July 2012}, pages = {527-540}, publisher = {Springer}, abstract = {

Our society is becoming increasingly more IT-oriented, and the images and sounds that reflect our daily life are being stored mainly in a digital form. This digital personal life can be part of the home multimedia contents, and users demand access and possibly share these contents (such as photographs, videos, and music) in an ubiquitous way: from any location and with any device. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, we introduce the Feel@Home system, whose main objective is to enable the previously mentioned vision of an ubiquitous digital personal life. Second, we describe the security architecture of Feel@Home, analyzing the security and privacy requirements that identify which threats and vulnerabilities must be considered, and deriving the security building blocks that can be used to protect both IMS-based and VPN-based solutions.

}, keywords = {Content sharing, Digital home, Multimedia, privacy, security}, issn = {1387-3326}, doi = {10.1007/s10796-010-9258-9}, url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/1785645v5246006u/}, author = {Rodrigo Roman and Javier Lopez and Olivier Dugeon and Marc Lacoste and Pierre Plaza Tron and Marta Bel} } @article {1750, title = {Towards Privacy Protection in Smart Grid}, journal = {Wireless Personal Communications}, volume = {73}, year = {2012}, month = {Nov 2013}, pages = {23-50}, publisher = {Springer}, abstract = {

The smart grid is an electronically controlled electrical grid that connects power generation, transmission, distribution, and consumers using information communication technologies. One of the key characteristics of the smart grid is its support for bi-directional information flow between the consumer of electricity and the utility provider. This two-way interaction allows electricity to be generated in real-time based on consumers{\textquoteright} demands and power requests. As a result, consumer privacy becomes an important concern when collecting energy usage data with the deployment and adoption of smart grid technologies. To protect such sensitive information it is imperative that privacy protection mechanisms be used to protect the privacy of smart grid users. We present an analysis of recently proposed smart grid privacy solutions and identify their strengths and weaknesses in terms of their implementation complexity, efficiency, robustness, and simplicity.

}, keywords = {authentication, Confidentiality, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Energy, privacy, Smart Grid}, isbn = {0929-6212}, issn = {0929-6212}, doi = {10.1007/s11277-012-0939-1}, url = {Wireless Personal Communications}, author = {S. Zeadally and A. Pathan and Cristina Alcaraz and M. Badra} } @article {1694, title = {Authentication and Key Establishment in Dynamic Wireless Sensor Networks}, journal = {Sensors}, volume = {10}, year = {2010}, pages = {3718-3731}, issn = {1424-8220}, author = {Y. Qiu and J. Zhou and J. Baek and Javier Lopez} } @article {vivas2009, title = {A security framework for a workflow-based grid development platform.}, journal = {Computer Standards and Interfaces}, volume = {32}, number = {5-6}, year = {2010}, month = {Oct 2010}, pages = {230-245}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {

This paper describes the security framework that is to be developed for the generic grid platform created for the project GREDIA. This platform is composed of several components that need to be secured. The platform uses the OGSA standards, so that the security framework will follow GSI, the portion of Globus that implements security. Thus, we will show the security features that GSI already provides and we will outline which others need to be created or enhanced.

}, issn = {0920-5489}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csi.2009.04.001}, author = {Jose L. Vivas and Carmen Fernandez-Gago and Andres Benjumea and Javier Lopez} } @article {VicenteBenjumea2008, title = {Anonymity Analysis in Credentials-based Systems: A Formal Framework}, journal = {Computer Standards \& Interfaces}, volume = {30}, number = {4}, year = {2008}, pages = {253-261}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {

Anonymity has been formalized and some metrics have been defined in the scope of anonymizing communication channels. In this paper, such formalization has been extended to cope with anonymity in those scenarios where users must anonymously prove that they own certain privileges to perform remote transactions. In these types of scenarios, the authorization policy states the privileges required to perform a given remote transaction. The paper presents a framework to analyze the actual degree of anonymity reached in a given transaction and allows its comparison with an ideal anonymity degree as defined by the authorization policy, providinga tool to model, design and analyze anonymous systems in different scenarios.

}, issn = {0920-5489}, author = {Vicente Benjumea and Javier Lopez and Jose M. Troya} } @article {Alcaraz2008a, title = {Gesti{\'o}n segura de redes SCADA}, journal = {Nuevas tendencias en gesti{\'o}n de redes, Nov{\'a}tica}, number = {196}, year = {2008}, month = {December}, pages = {20-25}, publisher = {CEPIS}, abstract = {

En el momento que se introduce en el mercado nuevas tecnolog\ías basadas en entornos distribuidos comienzan a surgir en paralelo nuevos problemas de seguridad en los sistemas SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), los cuales monitorizan y gestionan otras infraestructuras de gran complejidad y escala. Un fallo o una interrupci\ón en uno de sus componentes podr\ía suponer un impacto negativo sobre la funcionalidad de otras infraestructuras, por lo que se hace necesario realizar frecuentes an\álisis de seguridad para as\í mantener actualizado el conocimiento y proveer recomendaciones y/o soluciones para mitigar o evitar futuras ocurrencias, garantizando una gesti\ón de red fiable y siempre disponible.

}, keywords = {An{\'a}lisis de Seguridad, Gesti{\'o}n de red SCADA, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems}, issn = {0211-2124}, url = {http://www.ati.es/novatica/indice.html$\#$196}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Gerardo Fernandez and Rodrigo Roman and Angel Balastegui and Javier Lopez} } @article {Alcaraz2008b, title = {Secure Management of SCADA Networks}, journal = {Novatica, New Trends in Network Management}, volume = {9}, number = {6}, year = {2008}, month = {December}, pages = {22-28}, publisher = {Cepis UPGRADE}, abstract = {

When a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system monitors and manages other complex infrastructures through the use of distributed technologies, it becomes a critical infrastructure by itself: A failure or disruption in any of its components could implicate a serious impact on the performance of the other infrastructures. The connection with other systems makes a SCADA system more vulnerable against attacks, generating new security problems. As a result, it is essential to perform diverse security analysis frequently in order to keep an updated knowledge and to provide recommendations and/or solutions to mitigate or avoid anomalous events. This will facilitate the existence of a suitable, reliable, and available control network.

}, keywords = {SCADA network management, Security Analysis, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems}, issn = {1684-5285}, url = {http://www.upgrade-cepis.org/issues/2008/6/up9-6Alcaraz.pdf}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Gerardo Fernandez and Rodrigo Roman and Angel Balastegui and Javier Lopez} } @article {VicenteBenjumea2006a, title = {Anonymous Attribute Certificates based on Traceable Signatures}, journal = {Internet Research}, volume = {16}, number = {2}, year = {2006}, pages = {120-139}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Anonymous attribute certificates were introduced by Benjumea et. al (Benjumea, 2004) in order to integrate anonymity capabilities in the standardized X.509 attribute certificates. That solution was based on the use of fair-blind signatures, but did not ex}, abstract = {

In Benjumea et. al (Benjumea, 2004) we introduced the concept of anonymousattribute certificates in order to integrate anonymity capabilities in the standardizedX.509 attribute certificates. That solution was based on the use of fair-blind signatures(Stadler, 1995), but did not explore further possibilities of constructing similar datastructures based on more advanced signature schemes. In this new work, we propose anew type of anonymous attribute certificates that is based on the more recently proposedtraceable signature scheme (Kiayias, 2004a), providing a new anonymous authorizationsolution with interesting features that were not covered in the aforementioned scheme.Thus, this new solution allows users to make use of their attribute certificates in ananonymous way, but under certain circumstances it allows to disclose the users\’ identities,trace the transactions carried out by any specific user, or revoke any anonymousattribute certificate. An additional contribution of this work is that it pays special attentionto the preservation of the unlinkability property between transactions, makingimpossible the creation of anonymous user profiles.

}, issn = {1066-2243}, author = {Vicente Benjumea and Javier Lopez and Jose M. Troya} } @article {VicenteBenjumea2006, title = {Specification of a Framework for the Anonymous Use of Privileges}, journal = {Telematics and Informatics}, volume = {23}, number = {3}, year = {2006}, pages = {179-195}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {

In this paper we have defined an open framework to support open distributed applications where anonymous transactions based on user privileges play an important role. The goal of the framework is to provide a basis to the application level, and is presented from an open and general perspective where many different implementation schemes can fit. Moreover, we have presented a set of requirements that implementation schemes must fulfill to conform a fully anonymous privilege system, which guarantees to supported applications that anonymity will be preserved in remote transactions. Finally, we present an application scenario using the services provided by the framework in order to better show the possibilities of what this type of systems offers.

}, issn = {0736-5853}, author = {Vicente Benjumea and Javier Lopez and Jose M. Troya} }